RAGE

Most of the adults followed Narcissa to the roof where there was a small door leading outside.

“Wait.” Ginny said. “I’d feel a lot better if we all put disillusionment charm on. You can’t be too paranoid.”

There were murmurs of agreement and Hermione watched as people disappeared in front of her. Narcissa opened the door gently and climbed up to the platform. It was small but could fit at least twenty people on it. There were short railings around the sides.

You could see over the top of all the trees in all directions. It was a nice view, but Hermione was too concerned with setting up a watch to take it in. She looked all around her, taking in the surroundings. There were mainly just trees. They were in a valley, with hills on either side. You couldn’t see any neighbours or towns. They were completely secluded.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. No one would be able to find them if they didn’t know they were there.

“We may as well go back in and sort out who’s watching first.” Draco said.

“Yeah… no point in hanging around up here.” Ron said.

***

Hermione ate her entire sandwich at lunch to please her friends and then decided to explore the rest of the house. She decided to start from the top and work her way down. There were six bedrooms on the top floor, all the same size and style. With an exception to Draco’s room which was considerably bigger and decorated to the Slytherin’s tastes.

There was also a small ballroom decorated in a sort of French style. She was reminded of the movie “Marie Antoinette”. It was very fancy and she could picture herself dancing here. A waltz maybe. She would be wearing a long ball gown.

Hermione closed her eyes, imagining she was in a different time. A different turn of events. She was dancing. It was so light, she was floating on air. The music was slow, but kept her heart racing.

She sighed and caught herself thinking about the dance she had with Viktor at the Yule Ball. She instantly felt guilty. She had barely thought of Viktor since the infection began to spread. She had been so preoccupied thinking about her parents, not to mention her best friends.

It seemed that because he was out of site, he was out of mind. She hated that. She promised herself she would never be one of those people who would just forget about people. She wished with all of her heart that he was alright, but she knew the reality. He probably wasn’t. And she hated it.

Viktor would always hold a special place in her heart. He was the first person to look at her as a woman. She had been feeling sorry for herself for ages before he came for the Tournament. Everyone saw her as the bookworm; the teachers pet, someone who didn’t know how to have fun. Nobody bothered to even try and make an effort with her. It was like the girls didn’t want to be friends, and the guys couldn’t see that she was a girl.

Until Viktor. They had spent hours talking about everything; life, ambitions and how most people couldn’t get past a persona. Then when he had kissed her the night of the ball, she was so happy. They had spent hours making out and acting like all the other teenagers. But then it came time for him to go back to Durmstrang.

That night was one of the best nights of her life. He had led her to the Room of Requirement with only pure intentions. There was a sofa by a fire and they had sat together for hours, talking and kissing. Until one thing led to another and a large bed appeared out of nowhere.

He had been so loving, so gentle and tender. She thought she would die from the bliss. And then the morning had come much too soon. Before they knew it, they were saying goodbye. When her friends weren’t looking, he had pulled her away and kissed her passionately. They then walked back to the ship together. They promised that they wouldn’t regret anything. If they were meant to be, they would find a way.

They wrote to each other constantly for months. She had never told her friends. Especially Ron. He had been so jealous back then. And then the letters slowly trickled down to birthday’s and Christmas. She knew that no one could ever take away what they had, but she still missed him every now and then. He made her feel safe and loved.

She was brought back to reality by some children chasing each other down the hall behind her. Hermione came out of her thoughts and realised that she was still standing in the ballroom. The sun was almost down and she looked at her watch. It was almost five-thirty.

She put her hands in her pockets and continued on down stairs. She had seen the kitchen and living room so she moved on down the hall. There were five bedrooms, the first one was Narcissa’s. And like Draco’s, it was larger than the others.

Further down the hall was Lucius’s office. There sat Charlie, George and Alicia. They were doing checks on all of the wards so Hermione kept going. The next room was small but lavish. It appeared to be a sitting room. The walls were covered in paintings and there were only two seats in front of a small table.

Hermione stepped in.

“Do you like my paintings?” Came the voice of Narcissa from behind her.

Hermione jumped.

“Sorry.” Narcissa said walking past her, touching her arm briefly. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Hermione gave a small, shy smile.

“I jump at almost everything at the moment.” Hermione said.

Hermione looked closer at the paintings. They didn’t move.

“They’re beautiful.” Hermione said. “They’re all filled with such colour, and yet it’s not overbearing. I love landscapes. I can look at them for hours.”

Hermione turned to address Narcissa.

“Who painted them?” Hermione asked. “I notice that they’re not your usual Magical paintings.”

Narcissa smiled.

“I painted them.” She said, remembering fondly. She sat down on one of the chairs. “Lucius loved my paintings. This was his room. He came here to get away from everything. He would spends days in here at a time when things turned sour, right at the beginning.”

“Do you still paint?” Hermione asked. “You have talent.”

Narcissa shook her head.

“I stopped painting when Lucius stopped coming in here.” She said sadly.

“When was that?” Hermione asked quietly.

“Just after Draco was born.” Narcissa said, her eyes travelling over one painting in particular.

It was a painting of a man at a distance, in the middle of a field. He was holding a baby and was looking up the stars. There was nothing around him but the night sky. It was lovely and soothing.

“Hermione?” Narcissa asked, looking up at her slowly.

“Yes?” Hermione asked, seeing the look of concern and love in her eyes.

“Draco’s not a bad person.” She said. “He’s always been thrown into bad situations and tried to please his father. You seem to have a connection with him, so please, if anything were to happen… can I ask you to take care of him? I don’t know who else to ask…”

Hermione frowned as she was reminded strongly of her own mother. Hermione nodded and felt the lump in her throat return.

“I know he will do the same for you.” Narcissa continued, her lip trembling. “He’s really a precious, loving boy. He has so much to give if only he were given a chance.”

She looked down to her fidgeting hands.

“I just don’t think I could bare my baby being alone.” She said, a tear falling onto her cheek.

Hermione stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Narcissa’s shoulders.

“He’ll never be alone.” Hermione said. “Never.”

***